Bamford [is] working on a new book, A Killing Sleep: Anatomy of America's Greatest Intelligence Failure.

From the summary, it appears Bamford gave a history of the NSA. It's a little difficult to distinguish Bamford's remarks from the editorial comments of the summarizer. Among the more insightful comments: "[T]oday's press is actually getting worse. Before Sept. 11, all the coverage was on Gary Condit and on shark attacks, in spite of the fact that there are fewer shark attacks every year. Sells papers."

Report on a James Bamford Talk at Berkeley

James Bamford, a visiting professor at the Goldman School of Public Policy at U.C. Berkeley, will give a public lecture on Monday, Feb. 11, 2002 at 6:30 p.m. at Sibley Auditorium in the Bechtel Center. His topic will be Intelligence Failures that Led to the September 11th Attacks. ... For more information, please call the Goldman School of Public Policy at 642-4670.

Those of you in the SF area may want to check this out ...

James Bamford on 9/11 'Intelligence Failures'

NYT reporters place the attacks of September 11 in context with a wealth of details about the US government's policies and actions against Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda. Worth reading. Excerpts from interviews with many current and former cabinet officials.

Many Say U.S. Planned for Terror but Failed to Take Action

Ross Anderson has posted an article summarizing his recent comments to the media since September 11. This includes "a few observations on why some of the common reactions to the attacks are not appropriate." He ends with a plug for his book, _Security Engineering_, of which four chapters, the foreward, table of contents, and bibliography are available online (links provided).

Commonsense in the Crisis | Ross Anderson on Security Truths

AAAS is hosting a day-long seminar in DC on Tuesday, December 18. It's being held in the AAAS auditorium, which I recall from CFP99 as being rather small for an event of this kind. This seminar will probably fill up fast, so sign up now if you will attend. An overflow room will provide a video simulcast.

"In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, the already complex balance between national security and scientific freedom and human rights has become even more complicated. At the same time, scientists and engineers have begun to reassess their professional and social responsibilities in light of the changed situation.

Research priorities are certain to be affected by the focus on fighting terrorism. The priority of military R&D will increase, as will R&D on bio-terrorism, blast protection, information security, and other relevant fields. The Bush Administration and Congress are also considering significant new national security measures aimed at protecting U.S. citizens and vital national interests. While many of these measures are surely necessary, it is essential that the scientific community be engaged in evaluating them and their impacts on the environment for research, as well as carefully considering their own professional and personal roles in this very dynamic and highly charged political environment. This ... symposium ... will examine issues of scientists' responsibilities, as well as scientific freedom and human rights in post-September 11 America."

The War on Terrorism: What Does it Mean for Science?

"Public Agenda Online has recently released a special report focused on terrorism, covering both public opinion and policy issues. The report's brief Overview explains some of the ways in which the United States is entering new territory in its efforts to deal with the recent terrorist attacks and summarizes some of the policy proposals. The Public Opinion section of the special reviews many of the public opinion polls on issues related to the attacks and the aftermath. The extensive links in this section, to on-site graphs and off-site studies, make this a rich resource for anyone interest in public opinion polls in general or public opinion related to 9-11 events in particular. The Fact File offers quick graphical information such as Total international terrorist attacks by region, 2000 and Countries that support terrorism (according to the US State Department)."

Public Agenda Special Report: Terrorism

"Issued Wednesday by the International Affairs & Defence Section of the House of Commons Library for the use of members of the British Parliament, this 123-page library research paper covers a range of issues related to the September 11 attacks in the United States and their potential aftermath. Among other topics, the paper covers reactions to the attacks (UK, US, and beyond), information on Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda, international legal issues, military options, background on Pakistan and popular opinion there, and much more."

11 September 2001: The Response [PDF]

"The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks [...] resulted in a new and extraordinary emphasis by the Bush administration on combating terrorism. During the last ten days key administration officials [...] have repeatedly emphasized that their long-term objective is the destruction of terrorism [...] Terrorism, however, was hardly ignored in previous administrations. [...] the Reagan administration, [...] executive branch agencies, [...] Congressional bodies, [...] General Accounting Office, [...] The following documents, some of which were obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, include assessments of the terrorist threat and a CIA profile of Usama bin Ladin, presidential and Defense Department policy directives, the details about U.S. response to specific terrorist attacks, and evaluations of U.S. government preparedness to deal with terrorism."

The September 11th Source Books, Volume I: Terrorism and U.S. Policy

"The apparent terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 changed the skyscape of New York City, and the political and emotional landscape of the United States. The attack may have also changed how the leading search engine, Google, thinks of itself. This article examines how people used the Internet in general, and Google in particular, to seek and to deliver desperately wanted information about the lives lost and damage inflicted by the attacks."

The Effects of September 11 on the Leading Search Engine